1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data delivery apparatus and data delivery method capable of maintaining synchronization of information, and maintaining the security of information while delivering the information.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, printers, copying machines, facsimile machines, multifunction devices having these functions, and the like are sometimes connected to a network. These devices (called network devices) connected to the network, particularly, the facsimile machine and multifunction device, hold various data such as data on network settings, and address book data containing E-mail destination information and facsimile destination information. Some network devices have a function of controlling address book data for each user. The function of controlling an address book for each user is a function of limiting accessible address book data for each user. A device having this function requests a user to input a password and authenticate when the user tries to access address book data. Only when authentication is successful is the user permitted to access address book data within the range in which the user is permitted to access. As a technique of sharing an address book between a plurality of network devices, there is proposed a method of delivering the latest address book data to network devices and thereby synchronizing address book data of the respective devices. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-232585 proposes a method of updating a telephone book using electronic mail. According to this method, when a telephone book is described in electronic mail text and transmitted from the source, the receiving device detects a specific identifier which is contained in the electronic mail text and which corresponds to partner information. The device registers text information following the identifier as partner information in the telephone book.
When data to be delivered is data such as personal data requiring access limitation, and the data is delivered using the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-232585, access to the delivered data may not be limited in a destination network device. For example, when the destination network device does not have a function of limiting access to an address book for each user, i.e., a control function for each user, any user can access the address book even if received data can be registered in the address book.
As described above, even if each network device can control address book data for each user, control of address book data for each user is broken by delivering the data to another device. This problem is not limited to address book data, but also occurs in delivering other types of data such as personal data requiring access limitation. The network device is not limited to a copying machine, facsimile machine, printing apparatus, or multifunction device, and the same problem arises in other types of devices which control data requiring access limitation.